Comments please on: NAD M23 vs c298 vs. other newer Class D

@kirkwallace  Thanks for posting your experience! And for the link.

@rocray  Appreciate it. Too many conversations are of the sort "either-or" and I'm interested in "both-and" if the "and" is a component that, like a new coffee variety or nice jacket, add to the expressive options available. Swapping an amp in and out are super easy for me, because my equipment rack is easy to access and has multiple components on it at all times.

@atmasphere  Thank you, Ralph. Appreciate it. Since you jumped on, a couple of questions for you:
First, how were you able to make a Class D module that competes with companies like NAD, Purifi, et al.? It seems like the kind of thing that teams of engineers and iterations of product development would require and you did it alone? That's astounding.

Second, will there be another iteration of your class D amps? The ones you have now are the first generation, while other amps in this class seem to have gone through a number of "evolutions." Is there a new Atmasphere Class D amp version in the works?

@mgrif104  Are you saying "Audio Stellar S300 amps" are the "AS" which won out? Or does "AS" mean "Atma-Sphere"? I assume the latter. 

And when you say, "Smooth, stable, detailed and resolving and not lean or bleached iin the least which was my objection to the Hypex and ICE variants." -- you're saying all the others had those defects? 

Just want to be clear about what you're saying. Thank you.

@mihorn  thanks for the contribution and the links!

@hilde45 

AS in this case is the Atma-Sphere class D monos which I personally found to be significantly better than the other amps I mentioned in those characteristics. I’ll try to be bit more specific:

I initially liked (after it was broken in) the  NAD M22 as it was dynamic and powerful and reasonably resolving. But I also found it to not be tonally “dense”. I don’t mean lacking in bass, but perhaps this is what the reviewers call “tone color”. 

For the PS Audio S300, I found it again detailed enough but also somewhat bleached tonally. That said, I also thought it quite good for the price - vastly better than the a Parasound A23 I also had laying around which I found to be lacking in resolution and overaly thick in the mid bass.

I had high hopes for the M33 Eigentakt. It was certainly smooth but it never sounded quite right to me and somehow music lost its energy.  To be fair, that unit was also a preamp, streamer and DAC so it’s entirely possible one of those other functions was at fault. I never did try the T+A amps which are based on the Eignentakt module. Rumor has it those are quite good. But the rumors and reviews of the M33 were quite good too and I found it disappointing. For me. Others will clearly disagree.

The Atma-Spphere (AS) Class D amps I have found to be thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying to listen to. Tonally rich, smooth, powerful. Are there better? I’m sure. But I’ve also directly compared and found them fully competitive in my system to the Simaudio North 761 which I also own.  I personally think the North 761 is in the top tier of amps in the $15-$20k range. 

Full disclaimer: I’ve listened to a fair anmount of equipment to have certain tastes and biases. There are amps from a certain well known and regarded (even beloved) company whose sound I do not like though I’ve listened many times. The North and AS amps are what I like. As in all things, YMMV.

@mgrif104 Those are really helpful additions. Thank you. And yes, I really do get the point about "tonally dense". I have the XA-25 which I put up against a DIY amp made with a relatively recent Hypex module and, besides the grating upper end, with the Hypex, there was  "no ’there,’ there" to borrow Gertrude Stein’s cutting remark about her experience of Oakland, CA. The XA-25 brought that contrast immediately to light.

I owned the M23 for about a year and was very impressed with it.  I’ve owned pascal and Ice tech class D amps from the likes of Rowland as well as hypex from other makers.  The NAD was the first one I could live with long term.  It’s neutral but musical.  I liked it a lot, better than mono Bryston amps I had on hand.  The Alpha Audio online does a review where they compare it to the 298.  Obviously  you pay more for the fancy casework on the masters series although the internals look a bit different as well.  If you need that amount of power it’s definitely a contender IMO.  

@jimmy2615 Thanks. I have read the c298 is a bit lightweight in terms of both casework and the internals are different by a bit, too. I'd trust the m23 more, I think. I'm considering buying it from The Music Room and then seeing how I like it for a month. But the comments about Atma-sphere have me pausing; I'd love to try that one, also, but there are none at TMR at the moment. Perhaps someone in my audio club has one.